System and methods for aging compensation in AMOLED displays

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems to provide baseline measurements for aging compensation for a display device are disclosed. An example display system has a plurality of active pixels and a reference pixel. Common input signals are provided to the reference pixel and the plurality of active pixels. The outputs of the reference pixel is measured and compared to the output of the active pixels to determine aging effects. The display system may also be tested applying a first known reference current to a current comparator with a second variable reference current and the output of a device under test such as one of the pixels. The variable reference current is adjusted until the second current and the output of the device under test is equivalent of the first current. The resulting current of the device under test is stored in a look up table for a baseline for aging measurements during the display system operation. The display system may also be tested to determine production flaws by determining anomalies such as short circuits in pixel components such as OLEDs and drive transistors.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to Canadian Application No. 2,688,870,which was filed Nov. 30, 2009.

COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to active matrix organic lightemitting device (AMOLED) displays, and particularly determining agingconditions requiring compensation for the pixels of such displays.

BACKGROUND

Currently, active matrix organic light emitting device (“AMOLED”)displays are being introduced. The advantages of such displays includelower power consumption, manufacturing flexibility and faster refreshrate over conventional liquid crystal displays. In contrast toconventional liquid crystal displays, there is no backlighting in anAMOLED display as each pixel consists of different colored OLEDsemitting light independently. The OLEDs emit light based on currentsupplied through a drive transistor. The drive transistor is typically athin film transistor (TFT). The power consumed in each pixel has adirect relation with the magnitude of the generated light in that pixel.

The drive-in current of the drive transistor determines the pixel's OLEDluminance. Since the pixel circuits are voltage programmable, thespatial-temporal thermal profile of the display surface changing thevoltage-current characteristic of the drive transistor impacts thequality of the display. The rate of the short-time aging of the thinfilm transistor devices is also temperature dependent. Further theoutput of the pixel is affected by long term aging of the drivetransistor. Proper corrections can be applied to the video stream inorder to compensate for the unwanted thermal-driven visual effects. Longterm aging of the drive transistor may be properly determined viacalibrating the pixel against stored data of the pixel to determine theaging effects. Accurate aging data is therefore necessary throughout thelifetime of the display device.

Currently, displays having pixels are tested prior to shipping bypowering all the pixels at full brightness. The array of pixels is thenoptically inspected to determine whether all of the pixels arefunctioning. However, optical inspection fails to detect electricalfaults that may not manifest themselves in the output of the pixel. Thebaseline data for pixels is based on design parameters andcharacteristics of the pixels determined prior to leaving the factorybut this does not account for the actual physical characteristics of thepixels in themselves.

Various compensation systems use a normal driving scheme where a videoframe is always shown on the panel and the OLED and TFT circuitries areconstantly under electrical stress. Moreover, pixel calibration (datareplacement and measurement) of each sub-pixel occurs during each videoframe by changing the grayscale value of the active sub-pixel to adesired value. This causes a visual artifact of seeing the measuredsub-pixel during the calibration. It may also worsen the aging of themeasured sub-pixel, since the modified grayscale level is kept on thesub-pixel for the duration of the entire frame.

Therefore, there is a need for techniques to provide accuratemeasurement of the display temporal and spatial information and ways ofapplying this information to improve display uniformity in an AMOLEDdisplay. There is also a need to determine baseline measurements ofpixel characteristics accurately for aging compensation purposes.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure include a voltage-programmed displaypanel allowing measurement of effects on pixels in the panel. The panelincludes a plurality of active pixels forming the display panel todisplay an image under an operating condition. The active pixels areeach coupled to a supply line and a programming line. A reference pixelis coupled to the supply line and the programming line. The referencepixel has a controlled condition independent of the operating conditionof the active pixels. A controller is coupled to each of the pluralityof active pixels and reference pixel. The controller causes a testvoltage to be applied to the plurality of active pixels and thereference pixel. The controller compares an output of the referencepixel in comparison with the output of one of the plurality of activepixels.

Another example is a method of determining a baseline value for agingeffects of a transistor based display including a plurality of lightemitting device pixels. Each of the pixels has a programming voltageinput to determine brightness. A set programming voltage is input to adevice under test of the display. An output current is generated basedon the set programming voltage input. A first reference current and avariable second reference current is compared with the output currentvia a current comparator until the first reference current and thecombination of the second reference current and the output current isthe same. The output current value based on the value of the secondreference current is determined when the combination of the secondreference current and the output current is the same as the firstreference current.

Another example is a method for determining data for production of adisplay device having a plurality of pixels. A test signal is applied toeach of the plurality of pixels. Voltage and current characteristics aremeasured for each of the pixels. It is determined whether anomaliesexist for each of the pixels. Anomaly data is read from the pixels withanomalies. The anomaly data from the pixels demonstrating anomalies isstored.

Another example is a display system including an array of pixels todisplay images. A memory includes characteristic data. A profilegenerator is coupled to the memory to generate a plurality of luminanceprofiles based on the characteristic data. A controller is coupled tothe profile generator and the array of pixels to change the luminance ofthe array of pixels according to a selected one of the plurality ofluminance profiles.

The foregoing and additional aspects and embodiments of the presentinvention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in viewof the detailed description of various embodiments and/or aspects, whichis made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which isprovided next.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparentupon reading the following detailed description and upon reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a AMOLED display with reference pixels tocorrect data for parameter compensation control;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a driver circuit of one of the pixels ofthe AMOLED that may be tested for aging parameters;

FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram of a driver circuit of one of the pixels ofthe AMOLED;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for a system to determine one of the baselineaging parameters for a device under test;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of the current comparator in FIG. 3 forcomparison of a reference current level to the device under test for usein aging compensation;

FIG. 4B is a detailed circuit diagram of the current comparator in FIG.4A;

FIG. 4C is a detailed block diagram of the device under test in FIG. 3coupled to the current comparator in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a signal timing diagram of the signals for the currentcomparator in FIGS. 3-4 in the process of determining the current outputof a device under test;

FIG. 5B is a signal timing diagram of the signals for calibrating thebias current for the current comparator in FIGS. 3-4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a reference current system to compensatefor the aging of the AMOLED display in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a system for the use of multiple luminanceprofiles for adjustment of a display in different circumstances;

FIG. 8 are frame diagrams of video frames for calibration of pixels in adisplay;

and

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the use of a small current applied to areference pixel for more accurate aging compensation.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an electronic display system 100 having an active matrix areaor pixel array 102 in which an array of active pixels 104 a-d arearranged in a row and column configuration. For ease of illustration,only two rows and columns are shown. External to the active matrix areawhich is the pixel array 102 is a peripheral area 106 where peripheralcircuitry for driving and controlling the area of the pixel array 102are disposed. The peripheral circuitry includes a gate or address drivercircuit 108, a source or data driver circuit 110, a controller 112, andan optional supply voltage (e.g., Vdd) driver 114. The controller 112controls the gate, source, and supply voltage drivers 108, 110, 114. Thegate driver 108, under control of the controller 112, operates onaddress or select lines SEL[i], SEL[i+1], and so forth, one for each rowof pixels 104 in the pixel array 102. In pixel sharing configurationsdescribed below, the gate or address driver circuit 108 can alsooptionally operate on global select lines GSEL[j] and optionally/GSEL[j], which operate on multiple rows of pixels 104 a-d in the pixelarray 102, such as every two rows of pixels 104 a-d. The source drivercircuit 110, under control of the controller 112, operates on voltagedata lines Vdata[k], Vdata[k+1], and so forth, one for each column ofpixels 104 a-d in the pixel array 102. The voltage data lines carryvoltage programming information to each pixel 104 indicative ofbrightness of each light emitting device in the pixel 104. A storageelement, such as a capacitor, in each pixel 104 stores the voltageprogramming information until an emission or driving cycle turns on thelight emitting device. The optional supply voltage driver 114, undercontrol of the controller 112, controls a supply voltage (EL_Vdd) line,one for each row of pixels 104 a-d in the pixel array 102.

The display system 100 may also include a current source circuit, whichsupplies a fixed current on current bias lines. In some configurations,a reference current can be supplied to the current source circuit. Insuch configurations, a current source control controls the timing of theapplication of a bias current on the current bias lines. Inconfigurations in which the reference current is not supplied to thecurrent source circuit, a current source address driver controls thetiming of the application of a bias current on the current bias lines.

As is known, each pixel 104 a-d in the display system 100 needs to beprogrammed with information indicating the brightness of the lightemitting device in the pixel 104 a-d. A frame defines the time periodthat includes a programming cycle or phase during which each and everypixel in the display system 100 is programmed with a programming voltageindicative of a brightness and a driving or emission cycle or phaseduring which each light emitting device in each pixel is turned on toemit light at a brightness commensurate with the programming voltagestored in a storage element. A frame is thus one of many still imagesthat compose a complete moving picture displayed on the display system100. There are at least two schemes for programming and driving thepixels: row-by-row, or frame-by-frame. In row-by-row programming, a rowof pixels is programmed and then driven before the next row of pixels isprogrammed and driven. In frame-by-frame programming, all rows of pixelsin the display system 100 are programmed first, and all of the framesare driven row-by-row. Either scheme can employ a brief verticalblanking time at the beginning or end of each frame during which thepixels are neither programmed nor driven.

The components located outside of the pixel array 102 may be disposed ina peripheral area 106 around the pixel array 102 on the same physicalsubstrate on which the pixel array 102 is disposed. These componentsinclude the gate driver 108, the source driver 110 and the optionalsupply voltage control 114. Alternately, some of the components in theperipheral area can be disposed on the same substrate as the pixel array102 while other components are disposed on a different substrate, or allof the components in the peripheral area can be disposed on a substratedifferent from the substrate on which the pixel array 102 is disposed.Together, the gate driver 108, the source driver 110, and the supplyvoltage control 114 make up a display driver circuit. The display drivercircuit in some configurations may include the gate driver 108 and thesource driver 110 but not the supply voltage control 114.

The display system 100 further includes a current supply and readoutcircuit 120, which reads output data from data output lines, VD [k], VD[k+1], and so forth, one for each column of pixels 104 a, 104 c in thepixel array 102. A set of column reference pixels 130 is fabricated onthe edge of the pixel array 102 at the end of each column such as thecolumn of pixels 104 a and 104 c. The column reference pixels 130 alsomay receive input signals from the controller 112 and output datasignals to the current supply and readout circuit 120. The columnreference pixels 130 include the drive transistor and an OLED but arenot part of the pixel array 102 that displays images. As will beexplained below, the column reference pixels 130 are not driven for mostof the programming cycle because they are not part of the pixel array102 to display images and therefore do not age from the constantapplication of programming voltages as compared to the pixels 104 a and104 c. Although only one column reference pixel 130 is shown in FIG. 1,it is to be understood that there may be any number of column referencepixels although two to five such reference pixels may be used for eachcolumn of pixels in this example. Each row of pixels in the array 102also includes row reference pixels 132 at the ends of each row of pixels104 a-d such as the pixels 104 a and 104 b. The row reference pixels 132include the drive transistor and an OLED but are not part of the pixelarray 102 that displays images. As will be explained the row referencepixels 132 have the function of providing a reference check forluminance curves for the pixels which were determined at the time ofproduction.

FIG. 2A shows a block diagram of a driver circuit 200 for the pixel 104in FIG. 1. The driver circuit 200 includes a drive device 202, anorganic light emitting device (“OLED”) 204, a storage element 206, and aswitching device 208. A voltage source 212 is coupled to the drivetransistor 206. A select line 214 is coupled to the switching device toactivate the driver circuit 200. A data line 216 allows a programmingvoltage to be applied to the drive device 202. A monitoring line 218allows outputs of the OLED 204 and or the drive device 202 to bemonitored. Alternatively, the monitor line 218 and the data line 216 maybe merged into one line (i.e. Data/Mon) to carry out both theprogramming and monitoring functions through that single line.

FIG. 2B shows one example of a circuit to implement the driver circuit200 in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIG. 2B, the drive device 202 is a drivetransistor which is a thin film transistor in this example that isfabricated from amorphous silicon. The storage element 206 is acapacitor in this example. The switching device 208 includes a selecttransistor 226 and a monitoring transistor 230 that switch the differentsignals to the drive circuit 200. The select line 214 is coupled to theselect transistor 226 and the monitoring transistor 230. During thereadout time, the select line 214 is pulled high. A programming voltagemay be applied via the programming voltage input line 216. A monitoringvoltage may be read from the monitoring line 218 that is coupled to themonitoring transistor 230. The signal to the select line 214 may be sentin parallel with the pixel programming cycle. As will be explainedbelow, the driver circuit 200 may be periodically tested by applyingreference voltage to the gate of the drive transistor.

There are several techniques for extracting electrical characteristicsdata from a device under test (DUT) such as the display system 100. Thedevice under test (DUT) can be any material (or device) including (butnot limited to) a light emitting diode (LED), or OLED. This measurementmay be effective in determining the aging (and/or uniformity) of an OLEDin a panel composed of an array of pixels such as the array 102 inFIG. 1. This extracted data can be stored in lookup tables as raw orprocessed data in memory in the controller 112 in FIG. 1. The lookuptables may be used to compensate for any shift in the electricalparameters of the backplane (e.g., threshold voltage shift) or OLED(e.g., shift in the OLED operating voltage). Despite using an OLEDdisplay in FIG. 1 in these examples, the techniques described herein maybe applied to any display technology including but not limited to OLED,liquid crystal displays (LCD), light emitting diode displays, or plasmadisplays. In the case of OLED, the electrical information measured mayprovide an indication of any aging that may have occurred.

Current may be applied to the device under test and the output voltagemay be measured. In this example, the voltage is measured with an analogto digital converter (ADC). A higher programming voltage is necessaryfor a device such as an OLED that ages as compared to the programmingvoltage for a new OLED for the same output. This method gives a directmeasurement of that voltage change for the device under test. Currentflow can be in any direction but the current is generally fed into thedevice under test (DUT) for illustration purposes.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a comparison system 300 that may be used todetermine a baseline value for a device under test 302 to determine theeffects of aging on the device under test 302. The comparison systemuses two reference currents to determine the baseline current output ofthe device under test 302. The device under test 302 may be either thedrive transistor such as the drive transistor 202 in FIG. 2B or an OLEDsuch as the OLED 204 in FIG. 2B. Of course other types of displaydevices may also be tested using the system shown in FIG. 3. The deviceunder test 302 has a programming voltage input 304 that is held at aconstant level to output a current. A current comparator 306 has a firstreference current input 308 and a second reference current input 310.The reference current input 308 is coupled to a first reference currentsource 312 via a switch 314. The second current input 310 of thecomparator 306 is coupled to a second reference current source 316 via aswitch 318. An output 320 of the device under test 302 is also coupledto the second current input 310. The current comparator 306 includes acomparison output 322.

By keeping the voltage to the input 304 constant, the output current ofthe device under test 302 is also constant. This current depends on thecharacteristics of the device under test 302. A constant current isestablished for the first reference current from the first referencecurrent source 312 and via the switch 314 the first reference current isapplied to the first input 308 of the current comparator 306. The secondreference current is adjusted to different levels with each level beingconnected via the switch 318 to the second input 310 of the comparator306. The second reference current is combined with the output current ofthe device under test 302. Since the first and second reference currentlevels are known, the difference between the two reference currentlevels from the output 322 of the current comparator 306 is the currentlevel of the device under test 302. The resulting output current isstored for the device under test 302 and compared with the currentmeasured based on the same programming voltage level periodically duringthe lifetime operation of the device under test 302 to determine theeffects of aging.

The resulting determined device current may be stored in look up tablesfor each device in the display. As the device under test 302 ages, thecurrent will change from the expected level and therefore theprogramming voltage may be changed to compensate for the effects ofaging based on the base line current determined through the calibrationprocess in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a current comparator circuit 400 that maybe used to compare reference currents with a device under test 302 suchas in FIG. 3. The current comparator circuit 400 has a control junction402 that allows various current inputs such as two reference currentsand the current of the device under test such as the pixel drivercircuit 200 in FIG. 1. The current may be a positive current when thecurrent of the drive transistor 202 is compared or negative when thecurrent of the OLED 204 is compared. The current comparator circuit 400also includes an operational trans-resistance amplifier circuit 404, apreamplifier 406 and a voltage comparator circuit 408 that produces avoltage output 410. The combined currents are input to the operationaltrans-resistance amplifier circuit 404 and converted to a voltage. Thevoltage is fed to the preamplifier and the voltage comparator circuit408 determines whether the difference in currents is positive ornegative and outputs a respective one or a zero value.

FIG. 4B is a circuit diagram of the components of the example currentcomparator system 400 in FIG. 4A that may be used to compare thecurrents as described in the process in FIG. 3 for a device under testsuch as the device 302. The operational trans-resistance amplifiercircuit 404 includes an operational amplifier 412, a first voltage input414 (CMP_VB), a second voltage input 416 (CMP_VB), a current input 418,and a bias current source 420. The operational trans-resistanceamplifier circuit 404 also includes two calibration switches 424 and426. As will be explained below, various currents such as the current ofthe device under test 302, a variable first reference current and afixed second reference current as shown in FIG. 3 are coupled to thecurrent input 418 in this example. Of course, the fixed second referencecurrent may be set to zero if desired.

The first reference current input is coupled to the negative input ofthe operational amplifier 412. The negative input of the operationalamplifier 412 is therefore coupled to the output current of the deviceunder test 302 in FIG. 3 as well as one or two reference currents. Thepositive input of the operational amplifier 412 is coupled to the firstvoltage input 414. The output of the operational amplifier 412 iscoupled to the gate of a transistor 432. A resistor 434 is coupledbetween the negative input of the operational amplifier 412 and thesource of the transistor 432. A resistor 436 is coupled between thesource of the transistor 432 and the second voltage input 416.

The drain of the transistor 432 is coupled directly to the drain of atransistor 446 and via the calibration switch 426 to the gate. Asampling capacitor 444 is coupled between the gate of the transistor 446and a voltage supply rail 411 through a switch 424. The source of the446 is also coupled to the supply rail 411. The drain and gate of thetransistor 446 are coupled to the gate terminals of transistors 440 and442, respectively. The sources of the transistors 440 and 442 are tiedtogether and coupled to a bias current source 438. The drains of thetransistors 442 and 440 are coupled to respective transistors 448 and450 which are wired in diode-connected configuration to the supplyvoltage rail 411. As shown in FIG. 4B, the transistors 440, 442, 448 and450 and the bias current source 438 are parts of the preamplifier 406

The drains of the transistors 442 and 440 are coupled to the gates ofthe respective transistors 452 and 454. The drains of the transistors452 and 454 are coupled to the transistors 456 and 458. The drains ofthe transistors 456 and 458 are coupled to the respective sources of thetransistors 460 and 462. The drain and gate terminals of the transistors460 and 462 are coupled to the respective drain and gate terminals ofthe transistors 464 and 466. The source terminals of the transistors 464and 466 are coupled to the supply voltage rail 411. The sources anddrains of the transistors 464 and 466 are tied to the respective sourcesand drains of transistors 468 and 470. The gates of the transistors 456and 458 are tied to an enable input 472. The enable input 472 is alsotied to the gates of dual transistors 468 and 470.

A buffer circuit 474 is coupled to the drain of the transistor 462 andthe gate of the transistor 460. The output voltage 410 is coupled to abuffer circuit 476 which is coupled to the drain of the transistor 460and the gate of the transistor 462. The buffer circuit 474 is used tobalance the buffer 476. The transistors 452, 454, 456, 458, 460, 462,464, 466, 468 and 470 and the buffer circuits 474 and 476 make up thevoltage comparator circuit 408.

The current comparator system 400 may be based on any integrated circuittechnology including but not limited to CMOS semiconductor fabrication.The components of the current comparator system 400 are CMOS devices inthis example. The values for the input voltages 414 and 416 aredetermined for a given reference current level from the first currentinput 418 (I_(ref)). In this example, the voltage levels for both theinput voltages 414 and 416 are the same. The voltage inputs 414 and 416to the operational amplifier 412 may be controlled using a digital toanalog converter (DAC) device which is not shown in FIG. 4. Levelshifters can also be added if the voltage ranges of the DACs areinsufficient. The bias current may originate from a voltage controlledcurrent source such as a transimpedance amplifier circuit or atransistor such as a thin film transistor.

FIG. 4C shows a detailed block diagram of one example of a test systemsuch as the system 300 shown in FIG. 3. The test system in FIG. 4C iscoupled to a device under test 302 which may be a pixel driver circuitsuch as the pixel driver circuit 200 shown in FIG. 2. In this example,all of the driver circuits for a panel display are tested. A gate drivercircuit 480 is coupled to the select lines of all of the drivercircuits. The gate driver circuit 480 includes an enable input, which inthis example enables the device under test 302 when the signal on theinput is low.

The device under test 302 receives a data signal from a source drivercircuit 484. The source circuit 484 may be a source driver such as thesource driver 120 in FIG. 1. The data signal is a programming voltage ofa predetermined value. The device under test 302 outputs a current on amonitoring line when the gate driver circuit 480 enables the device. Theoutput of the monitoring line from the device under test 302 is coupledto an analog multiplexer circuit 482 that allows multiple devices to betested. In this example, the analog multiplexer circuit 482 allowsmultiplexing of 210 inputs, but of course any number of inputs may bemultiplexed.

The signal output from the device under test 302 is coupled to thereference current input 418 of the operational trans-resistanceamplifier circuit 404. In this example a variable reference currentsource is coupled to the current input 418 as described in FIG. 3. Inthis example, there is no fixed reference current such as the firstreference current source in FIG. 3. The value of first reference currentsource in FIG. 3 in this example is therefore considered to be zero.

FIG. 5A is a timing diagram of the signals for the current comparatorshown in FIGS. 4A-4C. The timing diagram in FIG. 5A shows a gate enablesignal 502 to the gate driver 480 in FIG. 4C, a CSE enable signal 504that is coupled to the analog multiplexer 482, a current referencesignal 506 that is produced by a variable reference current source thatis set at a predetermined level for each iteration of the test processand coupled to the current input 418, a calibration signal 508 thatcontrols the calibration switch 426, a calibration signal 510 thatcontrols the calibration switch 424, a comparator enable signal 512 thatis coupled to the enable input 472, and the output voltage 514 over theoutput 410. The CSE enable signal 504 is kept high to ensure that anyleakage on the monitoring line of the device under test 302 iseliminated in the final current comparison.

In a first phase 520, the gate enable signal 502 is pulled high andtherefore the output of the device under test 302 in FIG. 4C is zero.The only currents that are input to the current comparator 400 aretherefore leakage currents from the monitoring line of the device undertest 302. The output of the reference current 506 is also set to zerosuch that the optimum quiescent condition of the transistors 432 and 436in FIGS. 4B and 4C is minimally affected only by line leakage or theoffset of the readout circuitry. The calibration signal 508 is set highcausing the calibration switch 426 to close. The calibration signal 510is set high to cause the calibration switch 424 to close. The comparatorenable signal 512 is set low and therefore the output from the voltagecomparator circuit 408 is reset to a logical one. The leakage current istherefore input to the current input 418 and a voltage representing theleakage current of the monitoring line on the panel is stored on thecapacitor 444.

In a second phase 522, the gate enable signal 502 is pulled low andtherefore the output of the device under test 302 produces an unknowncurrent at a set programming voltage input from the source circuit 484.The current from the device under test 302 is input through the currentinput 418 along with the reference current 506 which is set at a firstpredetermined value and opposite the direction of the current of thedevice under test. The current input 418 therefore is the differencebetween the reference current 506 and the current from the device undertest 302. The calibration signal 510 is momentarily set low to open theswitch 424. The calibration signal 508 is then set low and therefore theswitch 426 is opened. The calibration signal 510 to the switch 424 isthen set high to close the switch 424 to stabilize the voltage on thegate terminal of the transistor 446. The comparator enable signal 512remains low and therefore there is no output from the voltage comparatorcircuit 408.

In a third phase 524, the comparator enable signal 512 is pulled highand the voltage comparator 408 produces an output on the voltage output410. In this example, a positive voltage output logical one for theoutput voltage signal 514 indicates a positive current therefore showingthat the current of the device under test 302 is greater than thepredetermined reference current. A zero voltage on the voltage output410 indicates a negative current showing that the current of the deviceunder test 302 is less than the predetermined level of the referencecurrent. In this manner, any difference between the current of thedevice under test and the reference current is amplified and detected bythe current comparator circuit 400. The value of the reference currentis then shifted based on the result to a second predetermined level andthe phases 520, 522 and 524 are repeated. Adjusting the referencecurrent allows the comparator circuit 400 to be used by the test systemto determine the current output by the device under test 302.

FIG. 5B is a timing diagram of the signals applied to the test systemshown in FIG. 4C in order to determine an optimal bias current value forthe bias current source 420 in FIG. 4B for the operationaltrans-resistance amplifier circuit 404. In order to achieve the maximumsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the current comparator circuit 400 it isessential to calibrate the current comparator. The calibration isachieved by means of fine tuning of the bias current source 420. Theoptimum bias current level for the bias current source 420 minimizes thenoise power during the measurement of a pixel which is also a functionof the line leakage. Accordingly, it is required to capture the lineleakage during the calibration of the current comparator.

The timing diagram in FIG. 5B shows a gate enable signal 552 to the gatedriver 480 in FIG. 4C, a CSE enable signal 554 that is coupled to theanalog multiplexer 482, a current reference signal 556 that is producedby a variable reference current source that is set at a predeterminedlevel for each iteration of the calibration process and coupled to thecurrent input 418, a calibration signal 558 that controls thecalibration switch 426, a comparator enable signal 560 that is coupledto the enable input 472, and the output voltage 562 over the output 410.

The CSE enable signal 554 is kept high to ensure that any leakage on theline is included in the calibration process. The gate enable signal 552is also kept high in order to prevent the device under test 302 fromoutputting current from any data inputs. In a first phase 570, thecalibration signal 556 is pulled high thereby closing the calibrationswitch 426. Another calibration signal is pulled high to close thecalibration switch 424. The comparator enable signal 558 is pulled lowin order to reset the voltage output from the voltage comparator circuit408. Any leakage current from the monitoring line of the device undertest 302 is converted to a voltage which is stored on the capacitor 444.

A second phase 572 occurs when the calibration signal to the switch 424is pulled low and then the calibration signal 556 is pulled low therebyopening the switch 426. The signal to the switch 424 is then pulled highclosing the switch 424. A small current is output from the referencecurrent source to the current input 418. The small current value is aminimum value corresponding to the minimum detectable signal (MDS) rangeof the current comparator 400.

A third phase 574 occurs when the comparator enable signal 560 is pulledhigh thereby allowing the voltage comparator circuit 408 to read theinputs. The output of the voltage comparator circuit 408 on the output410 should be positive indicating a positive current comparison with theleakage current.

A fourth phase 576 occurs when the calibration signal 556 is pulled highagain thereby closing the calibration switch 426. The comparator enablesignal 558 is pulled low in order to reset the voltage output from thevoltage comparator circuit 408. Any leakage current from the monitoringline of the device under test 302 is converted to a voltage which isstored on the capacitor 444.

A fifth phase 578 occurs when the calibration signal to the switch 424is pulled low and then the calibration signal 556 is pulled low therebyopening the switch 426. The signal to the switch 424 is then pulled highclosing the switch 424. A small current is output from the referencecurrent source to the current input 418. The small current value is aminimum value corresponding to the minimum detectable signal (MDS) rangeof the current comparator 400 but is a negative current as opposed tothe positive current in the second phase 572.

A sixth phase 580 occurs when the comparator enable signal 560 is pulledhigh thereby allowing the voltage comparator circuit 408 to read theinputs. The output of the voltage comparator circuit 408 on the output410 should be zero indicating a negative current comparison with theleakage current.

The phases 570, 572, 574, 576, 578 and 580 are repeated. By adjustingthe value of the bias current, eventually the rate of the valid outputvoltage toggles between a one and a zero will maximize indicating anoptimal bias current value.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the compensation components of thecontroller 112 of the display system 100 in FIG. 1. The compensationcomponents include an aging extraction unit 600, a backplaneaging/matching module 602, a color/share gamma correction module 604, anOLED aging memory 606, and a compensation module 608. The backplane withthe electronic components for driving the display system 100 may be anytechnology including (but not limited to) amorphous silicon, polysilicon, crystalline silicon, organic semiconductors, oxidesemiconductors. Also, the display system 100 may be any display material(or device) including (but not limited to) LEDs, or OLEDs.

The aging extraction unit 600 is coupled to receive output data from thearray 102 based on inputs to the pixels of the array and correspondingoutputs for testing the effects of aging on the array 102. The agingextraction unit 600 uses the output of the column reference pixels 130as a baseline for comparison with the output of the active pixels 104a-d in order to determine the aging effects on each of the pixels 104a-d on each of the columns that include the respective column referencepixels 130. Alternatively, the average value of the pixels in the columnmay be calculated and compared to the value of the reference pixel. Thecolor/share gamma correction module 604 also takes data from the columnreference pixels 130 to determine appropriate color corrections tocompensate from aging effects on the pixels. The baseline to compare themeasurements for the comparison may be stored in lookup tables on thememory 606. The backplane aging/matching module 602 calculatesadjustments for the components of the backplane and electronics of thedisplay. The compensation module 608 is provided inputs from theextraction unit 600 the backplane/matching module 602 and thecolor/share gamma correction module 604 in order to modify programmingvoltages to the pixels 104 a-d in FIG. 1 to compensate for agingeffects. The compensation module 608 accesses the look up table for thebase data for each of the pixels 104 a-d on the array 102 to be used inconjunction with calibration data. The compensation module 608 modifiesthe programming voltages to the pixels 104 a-d accordingly based on thevalues in the look up table and the data obtained from the pixels in thedisplay array 102.

The controller 112 in FIG. 2 measures the data from the pixels 104 a-din the display array 102 in FIG. 1 to correctly normalize the datacollected during measurement. The column reference pixels 130 assist inthese functions for the pixels on each of the columns. The columnreference pixels 130 may be located outside the active viewing arearepresented by the pixels 104 a-d in FIG. 1, but such reference pixelsmay also be embedded within the active viewing areas. The columnreference pixels 130 are preserved with a controlled condition such asbeing un-aged, or aged in a predetermined fashion, to provide offset andcancellation information for measurement data of the pixels 104 a-d inthe display array 102. This information helps the controller 112 cancelout common mode noise from external sources such as room temperature, orwithin the system itself such as leakage currents from other pixels 104a-d. Using a weighted average from several pixels on the array 102 mayalso provide information on panel-wide characteristics to addressproblems such as voltage drops due to the resistance across the panel,i.e. current/resistance (IR) drop. Information from the column referencepixels 130 being stressed by a known and controlled source may be usedin a compensation algorithm run by the compensation module 608 to reducecompensation errors occurring from any divergence. Various columnreference pixels 130 may be selected using the data collected from theinitial baseline measurement of the panel. Bad reference pixels areidentified, and alternate reference pixels 130 may be chosen to insurefurther reliability. Of course it is to be understood that the rowreference pixels 132 may be used instead of the column reference pixels130 and the row may be used instead of columns for the calibration andmeasurement.

There are various compensation methods that may make use of the columnreference pixels 130 in FIG. 1. For example in thin film transistormeasurement, the data value required for the column reference pixel 130to output a current is subtracted from the data value of a pixel 104 a-din the same column of pixels in the active area (the pixel array 102) tooutput the same current. The measurement of both the column referencepixels 130 and pixels 104 a-d may occur very close in time, e.g. duringthe same video frame. Any difference in current indicates the effects ofaging on the pixels 104 a-d. The resulting value may be used by thecontroller 112 to calculate the appropriate adjustment to programmingvoltage to the pixels 104 a-d to maintain the same luminance during thelifetime of the display. Another use of a column reference pixel 130 isto provide a reference current for the other pixels 104 to serve as abaseline and determine the aging effects on the current output of thosepixels. The reference pixels 130 may simplify the data manipulationsince some of the common mode noise cancellation is inherent in themeasurement because the reference pixels 130 have common data and supplylines as the active pixels 104. The row reference pixels 132 may bemeasured periodically for the purpose of verifying that luminance curvesfor the pixels that are stored for use of the controller forcompensation during display production are correct.

A measurement of the drive transistors and OLEDs of all of the drivercircuits such as the driver circuit 200 in FIG. 2 on a display beforeshipping the display take 60-120 seconds for a 1080p display, and willdetect any shorted and open drive transistors and OLEDs (which result instuck or unlit pixels). It will also detect non-uniformities in drivetransistor or OLED performance (which result in luminancenon-uniformities). This technique may replace optical inspection by adigital camera, removing the need for this expensive component in theproduction facility. AMOLEDs that use color filters cannot be fullyinspected electrically, since color filters are a purely opticalcomponent. In this case, technology that compensates for aging such asMaxLife™ from Ignis may be useful in combination with an opticalinspection step, by providing extra diagnostic information andpotentially reducing the complexity of optical inspection.

These measurements provide more data than an optical inspection mayprovide. Knowing whether a point defect is due to a short or open drivertransistor or a short or open OLED may help to identify the root causeor flaw in the production process. For example, the most common causefor a short circuit OLED is particulate contamination that lands on theglass during processing, shorting the anode and cathode of the OLED. Anincrease in OLED short circuits could indicate that the production lineshould be shut down for chamber cleaning, or searches could be initiatedfor new sources of particles (changes in processes, or equipment, orpersonnel, or materials).

A relaxation system for compensating for aging effects such as theMaxLife™ system may correct for process non-uniformities, whichincreases yield of the display. However the measured current and voltagerelationships or characteristics in the TFT or OLED are useful fordiagnostics as well. For example, the shape of an OLED current-voltagecharacteristic may reveal increased resistance. A likely cause might bevariations in the contact resistance between the transistor source/drainmetal and the ITO (in a bottom emission AMOLED). If OLEDs in a corner ofa display showed a different current-voltage characteristic, a likelycause could be mask misalignment in the fabrication process.

A streak or circular area on the display with different OLEDcurrent-voltage characteristics could be due to defects in the manifoldsused to disperse the organic vapor in the fabrication process. In onepossible scenario, a small particle of OLED material may flake from anoverhead shield and land on the manifold, partially obstructing theorifice. The measurement data would show the differing OLEDcurrent-voltage characteristics in a specific pattern which would helpto quickly diagnose the issue. Due to the accuracy of the measurements(for example, the 4.8 inch display measures current with a resolution of100 nA), and the measurement of the OLED current-voltage characteristicitself (instead of the luminance), variations can be detected that arenot visible with optical inspection.

This high-accuracy data may be used for statistical process control,identifying when a process has started to drift outside of its controllimits. This may allow corrective action to be taken early (in eitherthe OLED or drive transistor (TFT) fabrication process), before defectsare detected in the finished product. The measurement sample ismaximized since every TFT and OLED on every display is sampled.

If the drive transistor and the OLED are both functioning properly, areading in the expected range will be returned for the components. Thepixel driver circuit requires that the OLED be off when the drivetransistor is measured (and vice-versa), so if the drive transistor orOLED is in a short circuit, it will obscure the measurement of theother. If the OLED is a short circuit (so the current reading is MAX),the data will show the drive transistor is an open circuit (currentreading MIN) but in reality, the drive transistor could be operationalor an open circuit. If extra data about the drive transistor is needed,temporarily disconnecting the supply voltage (EL_VSS) and allowing it tofloat will yield a correct drive transistor measurement indicatingwhether the TFT is actually operational or in an open circuit.

In the same way, if the drive transistor is a short circuit, the datawill show the OLED is an open circuit (but the OLED could be operationalor an open circuit). If extra data about the OLED is needed,disconnecting the supply voltage (EL_VDD) and allowing it to float willyield a correct OLED measurement indicating whether the OLED is actuallyoperational or in an open circuit.

If both the OLED and TFT in a pixel behave as a short circuit, one ofthe elements in the pixel (likely the contact between TFT and OLED) willquickly burn out during the measurement, causing an open circuit, andmoving to a different state. These results are summarized in Table 1below.

TABLE 1 OLED Short OK Open Drive transistor Short n/a TFT max TFT max(TFT) OLED min OLED min OK TFT min TFT OK TFT OK OLED max OLED OK OLEDmin Open TFT min TFT min TFT min OLED max OLED OK OLED min

FIG. 7 shows a system diagram of a control system 700 for controllingthe brightness of a display 702 over time based on different aspects.The display 702 may be composed of an array of OLEDs or other pixelbased display devices. The system 700 includes a profile generator 704and a decision making machine 706. The profile generator 704 receivescharacteristics data from an OLED characteristics table 710, a backplanecharacteristics table 712 and a display specifications file 714. Theprofile generator 704 generates different luminance profiles 720 a, 720b . . . 720 n for different conditions. Here, to improve the powerconsumption, display lifetime, and image quality, the differentbrightness profiles 720 a, 720 b . . . 720 n may be defined based onOLED and backplane information. Also, based on different applications,one can select different profiles from the luminance profiles 720 a, 720b . . . 720 n. For example, a flat brightness vs. time profile can beused for displaying video outputs such as movies whereas for brighterapplications, the brightness can be drop at a defined rate. The decisionmaking machine 706 may be software or hardware based and includesapplications inputs 730, environmental parameter inputs 732, backplaneaging data inputs 734 and OLED aging data inputs 736 that are factors inmaking adjustments in programming voltage to insure the properbrightness of the display 702.

To compensate for display aging perfectly, the short term and long termchanges are separated in the display characteristics. One way is tomeasure a few points across the display with faster times between themeasurements. As a result, the fast scan can reveal the short termeffects while the normal aging extraction can reveal the long termeffects.

The previous implementation of compensation systems uses a normaldriving scheme, in which there was always a video frame shown on thepanel and the OLED and TFT circuitries were constantly under electricalstress. Calibration of each pixel occurred during a video frame bychanging the grayscale value of the active pixel to a desired valuewhich caused a visual artifact of seeing the measured sub-pixel duringthe calibration. If the frame rate of the video is X, then in normalvideo driving, each video frame is shown on the pixel array 102 in FIG.1 for 1/X of second and the panel is always running a video frame. Incontrast, the relaxation video driving in the present example dividesthe frame time into four sub-frames as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is atiming diagram of a frame 800 that includes a video sub-frame 802, adummy sub-frame 804, a relaxation sub-frame 806 and a replacementsub-frame 808.

The video sub-frame 802 is the first sub-frame which is the actual videoframe. The video frame is generated the same way as normal video drivingto program the entire pixel array 102 in FIG. 1 with the video datareceived from the programming inputs. The dummy sub-frame 804 is anempty sub-frame without any actual data being sent to the pixel array102. The dummy sub-frame 804 functions to keep the same video framedisplayed on the panel 102 for some time before applying the relaxationsub-frame 806. This increases the luminance of the panel.

The relaxation sub-frame 806 is the third sub-frame which is a blackframe with zero gray scale value for all of the red green blue white(RGBW) sub-pixels in the pixel array 102. This makes the panel black andsets all of the pixels 104 to a predefined state ready for calibrationand next video sub-frame insertion. The replacement sub-frame 808 is ashort sub-frame generated solely for the purpose of calibration. Whenthe relaxation sub-frame 806 is complete and the panel is black the datareplacement phase starts for the next video frame. No video or blankdata is sent to the pixel array 102 during this phase except for therows with replacement data. For the non-replacement rows only the gatedriver's clock is toggled to shift the token throughout the gate driver.This is done to speed up the scanning of the entire panel and also to beable to do more measurement per each frame.

Another technique is used to further alleviate the visual artifact ofthe measured sub-pixel during the replacement sub-frame 808. This hasbeen done by re-programming the measured row with black as soon as thecalibration is done. This returns the sub-pixel to the same state as itwas during the relaxation sub-frame 806. However, there is still a smallcurrent going through the OLEDs in the pixels, which makes the pixellight up and become noticeable to the outside world. Therefore tore-direct the current going though OLED, the controller 112 isprogrammed with a non-zero value to sink the current from the drivetransistor of the pixel and keep the OLED off.

Having a replacement sub-frame 808 has a drawback of limiting the timeof the measurement to a small portion of the entire frame. This limitsthe number of sub-pixel measurements per each frame. This limitation isacceptable during the working time of the pixel array 102. However, fora quick baseline measurement of the panel it would be a time-consumingtask to measure the entire display because each pixel must be measured.To overcome this issue a baseline mode is added to the relaxationdriving scheme. FIG. 8 also shows a baseline frame 820 for the drivingscheme during the baseline measurement mode for the display. Thebaseline measurement frame 820 includes a video sub-frame 822 and areplacement sub-frame 824. If the system is switched to the baselinemode, the driving scheme changes such that there would only be twosub-frames in a baseline frame such as the frame 820. The videosub-frame 822 includes the normal programming data for the image. Inthis example, the replacement (measurement sub-frame) 824 has a longerduration than the normal replacement frame as shown in FIG. 8. Thelonger sub-frame drastically increases the total number of measurementsper each frame and allows more accurate measurements of the panelbecause more pixels may be measured during the frame time.

The steep slope of the ΔV shift (electrical aging) at the early OLEDstress time results in a curve of efficiency drop versus ΔV shift thatbehaves differently for the low value of ΔV compared to the high ΔVranges. This may produce a highly non-linear Δη-ΔV curve that is verysensitive to initial electrical aging of the OLED or to the OLEDpre-aging process. Moreover, the shape (the duration and slope) of theearly ΔV shift drop can vary significantly from panel to panel due toprocess variations.

The use of a reference pixel and corresponding OLED is explained above.The use of such a reference pixel cancels the thermal effects on the ΔVmeasurements since the thermal effects affect both the active andreference pixels equally. However, instead of using an OLED that is notaging (zero stress) as a reference pixel such as the column referencepixels 130 in FIG. 1, a reference pixel with an OLED having a low levelof stress may be used. The thermal impact on the voltage is similar tothe non-aging OLED, therefore the low stress OLED may still be used toremove the measurement noise due to thermal effects. Meanwhile, due tothe similar manufacturing condition with the rest of OLED based deviceson the same panel the slightly stressed OLED may be as a good referenceto cancel the effects of process variations on the Δη-ΔV curve for theactive pixels in a column. The steep early ΔV shift will also bemitigated if such an OLED is used as a reference.

To use a stressed-OLED as a reference, the reference OLED is stressedwith a constant low current (⅕ to ⅓ of full current) and its voltage(for a certain applied current) must be used to cancel the thermal andprocess issues of the pixel OLEDs as follows:

$W = \frac{v_{pixelOLED} - V_{refOLED}}{V_{refOLED}}$In this equation, W is the relative electrical aging based on thedifference between the voltage of the active pixel OLED and thereference pixel OLED is divided by the voltage of the reference pixelOLED. FIG. 9 is a graph 900 that shows a plot 902 of points for a stresscurrent of 268 uA based on the W value. As shown by the graph 900, the Wvalue is a close-to-linear relation with the luminance drop for thepixel OLEDs as shown for a high stress OLED.

The above described methods of extracting baseline measurements of thepixels in the array may be performed by a processing device such as the112 in FIG. 1 or another such device which may be convenientlyimplemented using one or more general purpose computer systems,microprocessors, digital signal processors, micro-controllers,application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logicdevices (PLD), field programmable logic devices (FPLD), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGA) and the like, programmed according tothe teachings as described and illustrated herein, as will beappreciated by those skilled in the computer, software and networkingarts.

In addition, two or more computing systems or devices may be substitutedfor any one of the controllers described herein. Accordingly, principlesand advantages of distributed processing, such as redundancy,replication, and the like, also can be implemented, as desired, toincrease the robustness and performance of controllers described herein.

The operation of the example baseline data determination methods may beperformed by machine readable instructions. In these examples, themachine readable instructions comprise an algorithm for execution by:(a) a processor, (b) a controller, and/or (c) one or more other suitableprocessing device(s). The algorithm may be embodied in software storedon tangible media such as, for example, a flash memory, a CD-ROM, afloppy disk, a hard drive, a digital video (versatile) disk (DVD), orother memory devices, but persons of ordinary skill in the art willreadily appreciate that the entire algorithm and/or parts thereof couldalternatively be executed by a device other than a processor and/orembodied in firmware or dedicated hardware in a well known manner (e.g.,it may be implemented by an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable logicdevice (FPLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), discrete logic,etc.). For example, any or all of the components of the baseline datadetermination methods could be implemented by software, hardware, and/orfirmware. Also, some or all of the machine readable instructionsrepresented may be implemented manually.

While particular embodiments and applications of the present inventionhave been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the precise construction and compositionsdisclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variationscan be apparent from the foregoing descriptions without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A voltage-programmed display panel allowingmeasurement of effects on pixels in the panel, comprising: a pluralityof active pixels forming the display panel to display an image under anoperating condition, the active pixels each being coupled to a supplyline and a programming line for displaying images under said operatingcondition; a reference pixel coupled to the supply line and theprogramming line, the reference pixel being coupled to said supply lineand said programming line in a manner that said reference pixel has onlya controlled condition independent of the operating condition; and acontroller coupled to each of the plurality of active pixels andreference pixel, the controller causing a test voltage to be applied tothe plurality of active pixels and the reference pixel, the controllerfurther comparing an output of the reference pixel in comparison withthe output of one of the plurality of active pixels.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the active pixels and the reference pixel each includea drive transistor and an organic light emitting device coupled to thedrive transistor.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controllercompensates a programming voltage to the one of the plurality of pixelsbased on the comparison of the output of the reference pixel with theoutput of the one of the plurality of active pixels.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the reference pixel is one of a plurality of referencepixels, and the controller determines whether the reference pixel isfunctioning, and if the reference pixel is not functioning, the testvoltage is applied to another reference pixel of the plurality ofreference pixels.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the panel hascolumns and rows of pixels, and the reference pixel is associated with acolumn of pixels.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein output from thereference pixel and the one of a plurality of active pixels is an outputcurrent.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the reference pixel isassociated with a row of pixels.
 8. The system of claim 7, furthercomprising a memory storing luminance curve data for the one of theplurality of active pixels, and wherein the controller compares thestored luminance curve data with the output from the reference pixel. 9.The system of claim 1, wherein the controlled condition of the referencepixel is an un-aged condition, wherein the plurality of active pixelsare affected by aging when displaying images.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the plurality of active pixels have an applied current level andwherein the reference pixel has an applied current level less than thecurrent level of the plurality of active pixels.